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Last night marked a sad milestone for Marcus. His lifelong confidant, a stuffed bunny named Bada, would spend one final night in his arms. We all knew it was imminent, but that did little to dull the pain. For half a decade, his plush pal was ever by his side, and the wear and tear simply took its toll. Rather than risk the trauma of his head falling off or his guts spilling out (the fabric holding Bada together is literally tissue-thin now), we decided it was time to retire him to an easier life atop a shelf in a hermetically sealed box frame. Marcus posed for one last picture with his friend, and I have to admit it was pretty heart wrenching, even if Bada is just an inanimate stuffed toy.

Fare thee well, my friend.

Marcus wanted to world to know what a special pal Bada was, so I told him I’d dedicate a post to him. Bada and Marcus, this is for you.

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Bada joined our household shortly after Marcus’s birth. He was a gift from my mother-in-law, purchased at a children’s boutique in France. Look at him, so plush, vibrant and full of stuffing!

Although baby Marcus had piles of stuffed animals, he took to Bada immediately. I credit Bada for making it so easy to get Marcus to sleep on his own (and through the night). We actually named him Floppy at first.

Once Marcus started talking, he started calling him Bada instead of Floppy. Only he knows why. Bada and Marcus were joined at the hip – or nose, or ear or however else he could drag him along.

We sent this picture to the Noukies website and won picture of the month.

They sent us a big plush animal. But as you can see here, he got a spot on the bed, but not in his heart.

Bada made the perfect travel companion, accompanying Marcus to all corners of the globe. It didn’t matter where Marcus lay his head down. As long as Bada was next to him, it was safe. Boston, the Philippines, Turkey, Germany, an inflatable boat...

With time and repeated washings, Bada suffered. Mom ironed numerous patches on his body as quickly as holes appeared. When patches no longer had solid fabric left to stick to, our friend Julia sewed him a custom sweat suit to cover his body, which extended his service a good year or two. Throughout this time, we prepared for the inevitable end by searching far and wide for a replacement Bada. Noukies is a Belgian company with minimal distribution in the US. My sister found a boutique in Boston that carried Noukies, but they didn’t carry Bada’s model (Bastile). Noukies couldn’t send us an international order. In the end, Lola (mother-in-law) came through and made the trip to France. Yes, Bada was that essential. Marcus renamed Bada “Original Bada” and new Bada became “New Bada.” As Original Bada’s understudy, New Bada went everywhere, tagging alongside Original Bada. New Bada had his moments, mostly filling in on more abrasive adventures, like going on day trips, fairs and such.

But as you can see, you can never really replace your first Bada.

Bada, we’ll miss you. Thank you for giving Marcus your all in the short time you were with us. He will always remember you.